The Zide Hall seemed empty, and the entire palace was empty. In fact, after Guo Shao allowed some concubines and palace maids from the previous dynasty to leave the palace, not many people left. There were still tens of thousands of people in the palace, and it was a densely populated place.
Guo Shao came to Zide Hall and had dinner with Fu Ermei, during which he was a little distracted.
In the past few years, the country was in turmoil and wars were constant. In fact, Guo Shao didn't spend much time with Jinzhan. But somehow, knowing that she was there, not far away from him, made him feel at ease. But now, he always felt that something was missing in the entire palace, and something was wrong.
The second sister whispered: I will go see Hong'er and come to accompany my husband in the evening.
Guo Shao smiled and said: Go ahead. But you can't spoil him too much. The child should have his own independent days when he grows up.
The second sister turned her eyes upwards, as if she didn't understand what Guo Shao meant. She smiled and whispered: I will give birth to a little princess for you tonight. I will be satisfied with one son and one daughter.
After saying that, he gave Guo Shao a teasing look, and Guo Shao also laughed.
He was very satisfied with Fu Ermei. No matter in his past life or this life, it would be a great blessing to have a gentle, rich and beautiful woman by his side. But Jinzhan's feelings for him could not be measured by conditions.
Guo Shao sat down in front of a desk, took out a stack of files from his arms, and reviewed the upcoming military reform again. This was a plan designed by him and several ministers of the Privy Council and the cabinet, and he would take it to the meeting hall to discuss it with the generals early tomorrow morning.
This is the most important thing after the founding of the country, so Guo Shao thinks about it all day long and has thought about it countless times.
This matter has only one goal: to give the title and generous salary, buy military power, and hope to reach an agreement with the generals.
Because the national treasury did not have enough land and money to reward and purchase the imperial guards' military power all at once, Guo Shaojun and his ministers proposed a plan to spread the benefits evenly over future court expenditures.
First of all, all the military generals of the imperial guards who were at the middle level and above were given titles of nobility, namely duke, marquis and earl, and were collectively called the nobles of the Daxu Dynasty.
The newly-appointed nobles at the founding of a nation received substantial benefits from the national treasury, whereas the previously-appointed titles were merely a title, with salaries providing little or no substantial benefits.
The six dukes who benefited the most were Li Chuyun, Shi Yanchao, Yang Biao, Han Tong, Gao Huaide, and Luo Yanhuan. They were Kaiguogong, Zhenguogong, Fuguogong, Jingguogong, Fengguogong, and Huguogong.
The titles of these six dukes were hereditary, and as long as the Great Xu Dynasty existed, their eldest sons would inherit the titles. The public opinion was that the founding heroes shared the world with the royal family.
A golden medal of immunity from death and an imperial decree were granted. No matter how serious the crime was, the Duke would not die, and his title would not be revoked. At most, the throne would be passed on to his descendants.
The salary was also very generous, roughly equivalent to the double tax revenue of a state for each family.
The marquisates in the early period of this dynasty were collectively called founding marquises, mainly the commanders of the garrisons and the commanders of the army. The hereditary system was passed down for three generations. After three generations, if the family had made great military contributions to the country, it would be passed down for another three generations.
There is also a generous salary.
Military generals such as the military commander, inner palace guard, outer palace guard and other guards, as well as some commanders with military merits, can be granted the title of earl, and the title can be passed on to their sons.
But the title is not given for nothing, the imperial court will take back all military power and carry out military system reform. The military power of these mid-level and above generals will be completely taken back.
The Palace Guards and Cavalry Office were disbanded; the Five Military Governor's Office was changed to the Metropolitan Office, and the five armies established within it, namely the Troop Mobilization Army, the Troop Command Army, the Finance Army, the Armor Army, and the Reporting Army, were disbanded.
The original rural army was renamed the guards. In the future, the central army will include the imperial army and the guards, and will control most of the country's military power.
The country's main military force was completely changed from being controlled by the two major departments of the Privy Council to being shared by four departments: the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, the Metropolis Government, and the Military Equipment Bureau.
The Privy Council had the power to mobilize troops, the Ministry of War was in charge of military pay and food, the Metropolitan Prefecture was in charge of commanding troops, and the Military Equipment Inspectorate was in charge of the storage and control of armor, weapons, firearms, and war horses.
As a result, when there is no war, the largest unit of the army is actually commanded by 500 people, and the commander-in-chief cannot mobilize the army, cannot distribute military pay and supplies, and cannot control weapons.
The military generals at the army level no longer have real power. They are led by the Military Commander, who is mainly composed of civil servants from various government offices.
The compartment-level structure no longer exists.
When war breaks out, the power of the commander-in-chief is also controlled and supervised by multiple government offices, and a front camp military office will be temporarily formed to establish a military power system. The system of messengers and official military orders will become the most important part of the army of this dynasty.
In the next step, the imperial court will also make similar changes to the border troops. In addition to the decision-making power of the chief general, four departments directly under the imperial court will replace the chief general's military power.
Guo Shao had tested the attitudes of the generals in the early stage, and they seemed to have no dissatisfaction. Because in addition to the military power, the benefits they received under the new military system were far greater than before; the generals before only had a small salary, or waited for the emperor's reward, with little actual benefits and no long-term commitment.
The role of military power is not only to gain practical benefits and status, but also to rebel. If he does not want benefits but asks the emperor for military power, what does he want to do
Once this military system was implemented, it would inevitably lead to a situation where soldiers did not know their generals and generals did not know their soldiers over time, which would lead to a decline in the army's combat effectiveness; but because the military power was subdivided, mobilizing the army to fight involved a wide range of issues and it would be almost impossible to suddenly launch a rebellion, thus protecting the imperial power from backlash from internal military forces and increasing security.
All the ministers believed that after the key territory of Youyun was recovered, a national war might not be a big deal. Pros and cons cannot be taken into account at the same time. Under the current situation, it is more appropriate to adopt a strategy to stabilize the regime.
There are two reasons why Guo Shao made up his mind: First, the current imperial army generals and soldiers have experienced many years of war. Even if a general is temporarily assigned to lead the troops, he can gain the trust of the soldiers, because the emperor and the generals are well-known among the warriors. At least for this group of people, the change of the military system will not have a big impact on the combat effectiveness.
Second, with the advent of firearms, organizational forms and tactics will gradually change.
Guo Shao spent the whole night with a heavy heart.
Early the next morning, in the West Hall's meeting hall, as had been the custom for the past few years, twenty or so of the court's most powerful civil and military officials gathered to discuss recent plans, and then dispersed when nothing else mattered.
After a simple etiquette, the ministers skillfully found the chairs they were used to sitting on.
At this time Wei Renpu came out. He was carrying a sword. It was very strange for the emperor to carry a sword in front of him, but he was just a civil servant. No one said anything, but just watched what Wei Renpu was going to do.
Wei Renpu waved the sword in front of everyone.
At this time, Shi Yanchao couldn't help it: You are pointing at something without even looking at where it is, are you crazy
Ouch! Wei Renpu suddenly pretended to hold his fingers, frowned, this sword has no sheath, and he will cut himself accidentally.
After he said that, his eyes swept across the faces of Li Chuyun and others, but Li Chuyun said nothing.
Shi Yanchao said: You can't finish putting on the sheath.
Wei Renpu glanced at Shi Yanchao and said: General Shi is right. Let's not use this sword for the time being. If we leave it open, it's easy to cut ourselves. It's also possible that the sword will rust and curl or even break when it hits something. This is not the best way. But we can't throw the sword away now. We never know when we'll need it. The best way is to put it in a fine and expensive scabbard and oil it regularly. What do you think
Most of the civil officials knew what Wei Renpu meant, and the military generals nodded in agreement thoughtfully.
Then Wei Renpu put the sword back into the scabbard, placed it back on a table, clasped his fists to salute Guo Shao, and then spoke, repeating his and Wang Pu's ideas in public.
Guo Shao and the other generals listened silently. Guo Shao turned his head and looked to the right. You are all brothers who fought side by side with me. What do you think of the proposal of the Deputy Envoy Wei
Li Chuyun said: I second the proposal. The idea that the Wei deputy envoy kept a sharp sword in his precious sheath makes a lot of sense.
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Yanchao said excitedly: "Does the emperor need to ask? The Guo family has been emperors for generations, and we have been dukes for generations. Where can we find such a good thing? It is worth it. My brothers are willing to hand over their lives to the emperor. The emperor is very kind, and I will thank you for your kindness."
All the generals agreed immediately and were very happy.
The smoothness of the event was a little beyond Guo Shao's expectations, especially the six dukes, whose faces were flushed with excitement, and it didn't seem like they were pretending at all. Only then did Guo Shao come to his senses. His reward was indeed very generous. It wanted fame and status, and it was a benefit for the nobles and dukes. There was indeed no reason for the generals to be unwilling. Guo Shao's previous concerns were really unnecessary.
The generals present, under the current situation, probably didn't have much desire to become emperor. Some things can't be seen even if they jump, so they won't think about it.
With this in mind, being a hereditary noble is more secure than holding military power, because holding military power still involves danger. Now, why not sit back and enjoy everything in peace
This was simply a happy gathering to divide the spoils. The faces of the generals were all smiling, and Guo Shao observed carefully and found that Li Chuyun seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief and looked very satisfied.
Shi Yanchao looked at Wang Pu and said: I didn’t expect you would speak for us warriors.
It was clearly Wei Renpu who made the suggestion, but he said this to Wang Pu, probably because Wei Renpu proposed that it was their idea.
Wang Pu smiled and said: You are all great contributors, serving in the same dynasty. I have no grudges against you, so how could I be so unfair? I am a little upset. If I had known this, I would have joined the army. Wouldn't I have been rich and powerful for generations
Everyone burst into laughter, but the civil servants still had power, so naturally they did not need to be redeemed.
Yang Biao said: The government hasn't agreed yet, isn't it too early for everyone to be happy
However, everyone could almost guess that such a big event must have been planned by Guo Shao himself, and they all looked at him sideways.
Guo Shao said: The fact that Deputy Envoy Wei has a sharp sword in this precious sheath will become a story that will be passed down through the ages.
After hearing this, all the generals stood up, kowtowed and thanked the emperor, shouting "Long live the emperor". Shi Yanchao said: "The emperor treats us very kindly, unlike the Han Emperor Gaozu in the opera, who killed his old brothers one by one after he won the world."
The hall suddenly became silent and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.